Just as the 1930s produced some of the best American movies, it also produced some of the best radio programs, making the decade the golden age of both cinema and radio. More than just a source of news and entertainment, radio provided listeners with a chance to escape their troubles. Popular shows like Amos 'n' Andy offered comfort, as did broadcasts like the "fireside chats" of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945). Social workers observed that some poor families would give up their iceboxes before giving up their radios. By the end of the decade, nearly 80 percent of American households had a radio.

Comedy shows were among the most popular entertainment on radio, especially Amos 'n' Andy. The show was broadcast for fifteen minutes every evening. The show was so popular that for those fifteen minutes, telephone use dropped by 50 percent and films were stopped so...